Guard for skate runners



Sept. 5, 1933. C l, JOHNSON 1,925,697

GUARD FOR SKATE RUNNERS Filed April 27. 1931 INVENTOR.

Patented Sept.. 5, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Nestor Johnson Manufacturing Company,

Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Application April 27, 1931. Serial No. 533,020

6 Claims.

This invention relates to removable guards for runner blades of ice skates.

The guard to which my invention appertains is preferably made of resilientl rubber or other suitable yieldable material and has a slot or kerf extending lengthwise thereof to receive the runner blade of the skate for protecting the blade when the skate is walked on to and from the ice.

One object of my invention is to provide means in the slot or kerf of the guard to prevent the runner blade cutting through or injuring the guard.

Another object of my invention is to incorporate the protector means in the body of the guard at the ends of the slot Where the guard is subjected to the greatest wear by the blade.

A further object of my invention is to embed the protector means in the body of the guard during the molding thereof, so that the protectors become part of the guard and are carried thereby.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Fig. 1 shows a guard of my invention applied over the runner blade of an ice skate;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the guard;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show modied forms of construction to be hereinafter described; and

Fig. 8 shows a modification to be hereinafter described.

The ice skate shown in Fig. 1 is of the tubular type, having a vertically disposed at steel runner blade 1, supporting tube 2 therefor extending along the length of the blade, front and rear cups 3, 4 secured to and extending upward from the tube to support sole and heel plates 5, 6 to which the shoe 7 for use with the skate is riveted or otherwise rigidly attached. The skate illustrated is of the racing type in which the tube 2 and runner 1 continue to a considerable extent beyond the toe of the shoe. In this type of skate, the forward brace 8 for the front cup 3 extends to and is secured to the tube 2.

The guard for the runner blade is indicated at 9. It is made of flexible rubber or other suitable resilient material which can be molded to the shape and size required. The guard is pro- 55 vided with a slot or kerf 10 extending lengthwise of the guard'and opening through the upper edge thereof to receive the runner blade 1 when the guard is applied thereto. The guard is provided with knob-like enlargements 11, 12 at its opposite ends. These enlargements close the ends of the slot and protect the ends of the runner blade and also serve as stops to keep the guard from sliding endwise oi the blade. The enlargements also serve to hold the guard on the blade. The enlargements instead of being confined to the ends of the guard as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 could be made large enough to encompass or take in a part of the tube of the skate, as shown in Fig. 8, so as to assure a more positive grip on the skate to hold the guard in protective relation with respect to the blade. In Fig. 8 the enlargement is indicated by 11a and it will be noted that the enlargement is made long enough to fit over the adjacent forward portion of the tube 2 of the skate. The slot 10 at the front end of the guard extends into knob 11 and is shaped to provide a hook-like portion 13 which fits over the upper edge of the front end of the runner blade, as shown in Fig. 2. By this arrangement, the guard on being applied to the blade is first hooked over the front end of the same, and then the remaining portion of the guard is pressed onto the blade, the latter taking into the slot 10. The rear end of the slot, that is, at the knob 12, is made substantially normal to the bottom of the slot, so as to accommodate the square end at the rear of the blade, as shown in Fig. 2.

Being of flexible material, the guard is resilient and tightly grips the sides of the runner blade when applied thereto and is held on the blade without the need of additional fastening means. Moreover, the guard may be stretched in the direction of its length when being applied to the runner blade, and thus is under tension which serves to hold the guard on the 9 blade, the guard tightly gripping the sides of the blade by reason of its resilient characteristics. The knobs at the ends of the guard allord finger grasping portions to facilitate putting the guard on and removing it from the blade. There is sufiicient material in the guard to prevent the skate runner cutting through the guard when the skate is walked on with the guard on the blade. The bottom surface 14 of the guard is preferably flat, and may be given a tread formation as by the provision of a multiplicity of projections 15 molded or otherwise formed thereon, as shown.

The opposite ends of the guard bear the brunt of the skate runner, and to prevent the runner b1ade cutting through or injuring the guard at these points, I provide protectors or shields of a harder material than that of which the guard itself is made.

In Figs. 2, 3 and 4, I have shown the protectors or shields in the form. of channel-like members 16, 16, preferably of sheet metal, such as brass, located in the slot 10 at the opposite ends of the guard. The members 16 are preferably embedded in the guard so that their side and bottom walls 17 and 18 are substantially flush with the corresponding Walls of the slot 10. The members 16 extend to the ends of the slot so as to prevent the runner blade from cutting through the guard both laterally and downwardly. At the front end of the guard, the front channel member 16 may have its bottom wall 18 directly upwardly to conform to the upward inclination or curvature of the runner blade at this point, as shown in Fig. 2. The side walls 17 of the protector terminate short of the upper edges of the slot 10, thereby allowing the flexible portions of the guard above the protectors to grip the runner blade, in the same manner as the portions of the guard not otherwise equipped with protectors.

One or more of the Wall portions of each protector may be apertured, as at 19, 19 in Fig. 5 to permit the guard material in the molding of the parts to extend into and ll the openings, as at 20, 20 to more rmly seure the protectors in the guard.

The protectors may have their side walls extend the full height or depth of the slot 10 and be turned over the upper edges of the guard, as at 21, 21, in Fig. 6.

-In place of metal protectors, the latter may be provided by the use of a non-metallic material, such as fiber, sole leather or leather ofany other character or any other material which will serve to prevent the runner blade cutting through the rubber of the guard. The protectors could be made of a composition of rubber or material which when vulcanized in the guard will be harder than the guard itself. A protector of this character is indicated at 22 in Fig. '7. Here the material is of such a character that it will be in the nature of hard rubber and will become integrally connected with the guard during the molding operations. In making the guard, the protectors are placed on the center piece of the mold forming the slot or kerf and then the other material is applied to produce the guard itself.

With the protectors, of whatever form, confined to the opposite ends of the guard, the latter in its intermediate portion will be as flexible and resilient as without the protectors and thus may be stretched when applying the guard to the runner and tight grip and hug the same to hold the guard on the runner without the use of advention except as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A guard for a skate runner blade, said u guard being made of resilient material and having a slot or kerf therein to receive' the runner blade, and means in the slot to protect the guard from being cut or injured by the blade.

2. A guard for a skate runner blade, said guard being made of resilient material and having a slot or kerf therein to receive the runner blade, and channel means in the slot to protect the guard from being cut or injured by the blade.

3. A guard for a skate runner blade, said guard being of resilient material and having a` slot or kerf therein to receive the runner blade, and channel means in the bottom of the slot t-o protect the guard from being cut or injured by the blade, said channel means being embedded in the guard to form a part thereof.

1l. A guard for a skate runner blade, said guard being made of resilient material and having a slot or kerf therein to receive the runner blade, and channel members in the slot at the opposite ends thereof to protect the guard from being cut or injured by the blade, said members being embedded in the guard and having their side walls terminating short of the upper edges of the slot.

5. A guard for a skate runner blade, said guard being made of resilient material and having a slot or kerf therein to receive the runner blade, and channel members in the slot at the opposite ends thereof to protect the guard from being cut or injured by the blade, said members being embedded in the guard and having apertures in at least one of the wall portions thereof to receive portions of the material of the guard for securing the channel members in the guard.

6. A guard for a skate runner blade, said guard comprising an elongated one-piece exible member having a longitudinally extending slot or kerf therein to receive the runner blade, andprotectors at the bottom of the slot to prevent the blade from cutting through the guard, said protectors being located at the ends of the slot so that the portion of the guard between the protectorl may be stretched for applying the guard to he blade and for tightly gripping the blade when applied thereto.

CHARLES I. JOHNSON.

ctzii''t'li'cxrn or CORRECTION; lgatent No. 1,925,697. l 'September' 5, 1933.

y cutout-13's vl. JoHNsoN.

lt is hereby certified that error appears? inthe printed specification ofthe -abovc numberedpatent reouiring'eorrection 'ae follows: Page l2, line 101, claim 3, strike out the words "bottom' of the" and insert thesame' after "the" first occurrence, in line 90, of claim l'; and` that the said Lettere Patent should be- :hrend with these corrections. therein that the same may. conform to the record of thel case in the Patent (lffice. y u

Signed and 4sealed thin 24th dey of October, A. D. 1933;

F. M. Hopkins (Seal.)l 1 -oting Commissioner of Patente. 

